Erosion Migration Arrangement, Erodable Member and Method of Migrating a Slurry Flow Path

ABSTRACT

An erosion migration arrangement includes a tubular having a window therein. A body positioned within a portion of the window is configured to sacrificially erode in response to a slurry flowing through the window to thereby migrate a location of impact on a member positioned downstream of the window.

BACKGROUND

A known issue that occurs along a slurry flow path is erosion ofcomponents. For example, the flow of gravel slurry during downholegravel packing operations in the downhole completion industry have beenknown to erode completely through a wall of a casing. Operators haveemployed various techniques to minimize such erosion including use ofhardened shields in the most erosion prone locations. Such methods maysuccessfully address the erosion concern, however, positioning thehardened shields often comes at a cost premium. Other drawbacks may alsobe encountered, such as difficulty in properly positioning the shields,for example. Operators are therefore always interested in new devicesand methods to address undesirable erosion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Disclosed herein is an erosion migration arrangement that includes atubular having a window therein. A body positioned within a portion ofthe window is configured to sacrificially erode in response to a slurryflowing through the window to thereby migrate a location of impact on amember positioned downstream of the window.

Further disclosed is a method of migrating a slurry flow path includingconstructing at least one portion of a border of a window of a tubularfrom an eroded material, flowing slurry through the window; eroding theat least one portion at a faster rate than a remaining border of thewindow; and migrating a flow path of the slurry.

Further disclosed is a sacrificially erodable member which includes acore configured to easily erode in a target environment, and a shell inoperable communication with the core configured to protect the core fromeroding until fracture thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way.With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numberedalike:

FIG. 1 depicts a cross sectional view of an erosion migrationarrangement disclosed herein prior to being eroded;

FIG. 2 depicts the cross sectional view of the erosion migrationarrangement of FIG. 1 after being partially eroded; and

FIG. 3 depicts an erodable body disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosedapparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification andnot limitation with reference to the Figures.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an erosion migration arrangement isdisclosed generally at 10. The erosion migration arrangement 10includes, a tubular 14 having at least one window 18 through a wall 20thereof, and a body 22 positioned within a portion of the window 18. Thebody 22 is configured to erode in response to a slurry flowing throughthe window 18 at a faster rate than portions of the window 18 that donot include the body 22. The erosion of the body 22 thereby causes aflow path 26 of the slurry to migrate in a direction of the erosion.This migration has a beneficial effect of lessening a depth of erosionof a surface 30 positioned downstream of the window 18 by moving an areaof impingement 34. This affect is illustrated by the positional change(in a rightward direction in the Figures) observed between the area ofimpingement 34 shown in FIG. 1 and that shown in FIG. 2. In thisembodiment, erosion of the body 22 has caused a longitudinal dimension38 of the window 18 to increase from that shown in FIG. 1 to that shownin FIG. 2. In a downhole gravel packing application, for example, theerosion migration of the surface 30 of a casing can prevent erodingcompletely through a wall 42 thereof.

The body 22, as described, sacrificially erodes to intentionally alterthe area of impingement 34 on the downstream surface 30. Specificallyselecting certain design parameters can influence this intentionalsacrificial erosion. For example, a border location of a portion of thewindow 18 having the body 22 can influence the rate of erosion thereof.Positioning the body 22 on a downhole portion of the border will assurethat more of the particulates in the slurry directly impact the body 22and with greater force than if the body 22 is placed elsewhere along theborder. Alternately, the body 22 can have an altered geometry that issusceptible to erosion, such as a thinner wall, for example.Additionally, the body can be made of a material that erodes more easilythan a material from which the tubular 14 is made. Alternately, the body22 could be made of the same material as the tubular 14 but be processedin differently. For example, the body could be foamed or heat-treatedresulting in a different strength and hardness.

Referring to FIG. 3, an alternate embodiment of a body 50 disclosedherein is illustrated. The body 50 includes a core 54 encapsulated by ashell 58. The shell 58 can be made of a stronger material than the core54 thereby allowing erosion to accelerate once the shell 58 hasfractured. In some embodiments the core 54 can be a material thatdisintegrates when exposed to certain environments. For example,materials that disintegrate when exposed to changes in temperature orpressure or to specific fluids, could be employed to acceleratedegradation of the material properties and quicken a rate of erosion. Indownhole applications reactive metals such as Mg, Al, Zn, Sn and alloysincluding at least one of the foregoing, can react with wellbore fluidsto control a rate of disintegration or corrosion. The shell 58 in suchan application may be a micro or nano-scale coating consisting ofmetallic, intermetallic, ceramics, oxides, carbides and nitrides, forexample, to provide further control over exposure of the core 54 andsubsequent disintegration thereof. Additionally, micro or nanoreinforcing particulates can be dispersed within the core 54 to providea further level of erosion control. In these cases, the shell 58prevents any premature disintegration of the core 54 by limitingexposure of the core 54 to the environment until slurry flow has begunand the shell 58 has been breached. The slurry also could includechemicals, such as an acid, for example, that will acceleratedegradation of the core 54 as well as the shell 58.

While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplaryembodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in theart that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substitutedfor elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention.In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particularsituation or material to the teachings of the invention withoutdeparting from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intendedthat the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosedas the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but thatthe invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope ofthe claims. Also, in the drawings and the description, there have beendisclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention and, although specificterms may have been employed, they are unless otherwise stated used in ageneric and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation,the scope of the invention therefore not being so limited. Moreover, theuse of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order orimportance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used todistinguish one element from another. Furthermore, the use of the termsa, an, etc. do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denotethe presence of at least one of the referenced item.

1. An erosion migration arrangement comprising: a tubular having awindow therein; and a body positioned within a portion of the windowbeing configured to sacrificially erode in response to a slurry flowingthrough the window to thereby migrate a location of impact on a memberpositioned downstream of the window.
 2. The erosion migrationarrangement of claim 1, wherein the tubular is configured to transportthe slurry during a gravel packing operation.
 3. The erosion migrationarrangement of claim 1, wherein the body is positioned on a downstreamside of the window.
 4. The erosion migration arrangement of claim 1,wherein the body is configured to erode more quickly than the tubular.5. The erosion migration arrangement of claim 1, wherein the body ismade of a material that reacts with an environment anticipated to beencountered during flow of the slurry.
 6. The erosion migrationarrangement of claim 5, wherein reaction of the body includesdisintegration thereof.
 7. The erosion migration arrangement of claim 1,wherein the body has a shell covering a core and the shell is moreresistant to degradation than the core.
 8. The erosion migrationarrangement of claim 7, wherein the shell prevents the core fromdisintegration until the shell is fractured.
 9. The erosion migrationarrangement of claim 7, wherein disintegration of the core quickenserosion thereof.
 10. The erosion migration arrangement of claim 7,wherein the core is made of a reactive and soft metal such as Mg, Al,Zn, Sn or alloys including at least one of the foregoing.
 11. Theerosion migration arrangement of claim 7, wherein the core is made of areactive metal matrix reinforced by micro or nano particulates selectedfrom the group consisting of ceramics, metallic, intermetallic, oxides,carbides and nitrides.
 12. The erosion migration arrangement of claim 7,wherein the shell is made of a material that is selected from the groupconsisting of ceramic, metallic, intermetallic, oxides carbides, andnitride.
 13. The erosion migration arrangement of claim 7, wherein theslurry includes gravel and a fluid.
 14. A method of migrating a slurryflow path comprising: constructing at least one portion of a border of awindow of a tubular from an degraded material; flowing slurry throughthe window; eroding the at least one portion at a faster rate than aremaining border of the window; and migrating a flow path of the slurry.15. The method of migrating a slurry flow path of claim 13, wherein theat least one portion is a downstream portion of the border.
 16. Themethod of migrating a slurry flow path of claim 13, further comprisingdisintegrating the at least one portion.
 17. The method of migrating aslurry flow path of claim 13, further comprising constructing the atleast one portion of at least one material configured to disintegrate ina target environment.
 18. The method of migrating a slurry flow path ofclaim 13, further comprising constructing the at least one portion of ashell material and a core material.
 19. The method of migrating a slurryflow path of claim 17, wherein the core material disintegrates moreeasily than the shell material.
 20. A sacrificially erodable membercomprising; a core configured to easily erode in a target environment;and a shell in operable communication with the core configured toprotect the core from eroding until fracture thereof.
 21. Thesacrificially erodable member of claim 19, wherein the core is made of amaterial that more easily erodes than a material that the shell is madeof
 22. The sacrificially erodable member of claim 19, wherein the coreis made of a material that disintegrates in a target environment.